I agree with McG of H on this. The purpose of terror is to terrorize. It has strategic value to many world governments, the US amongst them.

"The patron state provides its beneficiary terrorist organization with political support, financial assistance, and the sponsorship necessary to maintain and expand its struggle. The patron uses the beneficiary to perpetrate acts of terrorism as a means of spreading the former's ideology throughout the word [sic], or in some cases, the patron ultimately expects the beneficiary to gain control of the state in which it resides or impart its ideology to broad sections of the general public."

from www.ict.org.il/inter_ter/st_terror/State_t.htm    or google

state-sponsored terrorism